In wireless communication represented by wireless local area networks (LANs) conforming to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard series, there are many setting items that must be set prior to use.
For example, as setting items, there are communication parameters needed to perform wireless communication, such as the Service Set Identifier (SSID) which is a network identifier, an encryption method, an encryption key, an authentication method, and an authentication key. It is very complicated for the user to manually enter and set these communication parameters.
Therefore, various manufacturers have devised automatic setting methods for easily setting communication parameters in wireless devices. In these automatic setting methods, one device provides communication parameters to another device connected thereto using a procedure and messages determined in advance between these connected devices, and accordingly the communication parameters are automatically set.
Patent Citation 1 discloses an example of automatically setting communication parameters in wireless local area network (LAN) ad-hoc mode communication (hereinafter called ad-hoc communication).
The case where a new device is added, by using communication-parameter automatic setting, to an ad-hoc network configured by using communication-parameter automatic setting will be considered.
In this case, a device joined in the network is activated as a device that provides parameters (hereinafter called a providing apparatus), and the providing apparatus provides communication parameters of the network to a device newly added (hereinafter called a receiving apparatus).
The case where multiple providing apparatuses are activated by multiple users who simultaneously operate multiple devices joined in the network will be considered.
In this case, the receiving apparatus performs communication-parameter automatic setting with only one of the activated providing apparatuses. Thus, there is at least one providing apparatus that does not provide communication parameters to the receiving apparatus.
The providing apparatus that does not provide communication parameters to the receiving apparatus remains to be able to provide communication apparatus to another device until a timeout occurs.
Therefore, the providing apparatus may perform communication-parameter automatic setting with another unintended receiving apparatus. This means that communication parameters may be mistakenly provided, resulting in a network security problem. When the providing apparatus activates its communication-parameter automatic setting function, the providing apparatus cannot perform other operations until the activated function is deactivated. It is therefore inconvenient to use the providing apparatus.